In what's shaping up as a sweeping crackdown on immigration and national security breaches, dozens of individuals who were either attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally or were present without authorization have found themselves up against the full weight of the law, after pleading guilty to National Defense Area violations. This legal action is part of a larger, concerted initiative called Operation Take Back America, aimed at staunching the flow of illegal immigration and the nefarious activities of cartels and transnational criminal organizations that often accompany it.
These legal woes stem from a specific stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border, ranging from New Mexico through El Paso County to an area near Fort Hancock, Texas, where these individuals transgressed the bounds of a National Defense Area. Such areas, critical to national security, fall under stringent regulation. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 60 defendants had pleaded guilty yesterday. The specific statutes in play here, Title 50 United States Code (USC) 797 and Title 18 USC 1382, lay out the criminal penalties for anyone illegally entering or present in a U.S. national defense space.
Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas underscored the importance of the convictions for the broader objectives of justice and border security. "The role of this U.S. Attorney’s Office is to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States, seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior, and to administer and enforce the nation's laws to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans," Leachman said, as obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice. Highlighting the gravity of the offenses, she added that, "These NDA-related charges are brought because the defendants violated of the federal law. These convictions area positive step in the judicial process of deterring illegal immigration, and I am very grateful to our El Paso Division staff and to our federal law enforcement and military partners for their diligent work in securing our borders."
